outdoor hat?

I do have to say I really like Litefelt hats also. They look great, are light and are waterproof.

They just don't the same ability to resist wear and tear IMO as a Tilly though. My last light felt hat from Cabellas worked great but after 1 year, the brim started to get weird curves on it and I can't straighten them out. Also the Tilleys are fully washable, just remove the foam insert and throw it in the washing machine. This is pretty darn for me as my hat receives as much bird droppings from the Islands I visit as rain.
 
Another vote for the Tilley. I resisted buying one initially because of the nerd factor, but at the end of the day, "Real men don't worry about what other people think, he makes up his own mind".:D

Doc
 
kgd said:
I do have to say I really like Litefelt hats also. They look great, are light and are waterproof.

They just don't the same ability to resist wear and tear IMO as a Tilly though. My last light felt hat from Cabellas worked great but after 1 year, the brim started to get weird curves on it and I can't straighten them out. Also the Tilleys are fully washable, just remove the foam insert and throw it in the washing machine. This is pretty darn for me as my hat receives as much bird droppings from the Islands I visit as rain.
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I actually have a few felt hats myself kgd. At one time or another I've tried just about everything. Personal preference, specific use, climate and background all affect ones choice. (Bird droppings? That's a new one for me. :D) As long as everyone can take a joke this kind of thread is a lot of fun. :thumbup:
 
You can get a Brazilian Tarp hat for 30 smackers.

But it does make you look a lil nerdy, Thats me on the right.

355333206_2Dx7J-M-1.jpg
 
tonym said:
You can get a Brazilian Tarp hat for 30 smackers.

But it does make you look a lil nerdy, Thats me on the right.

355333206_2Dx7J-M-1.jpg
Click to expand...

No more nerdy than the rest of us Tony. That's an interesting pic. Six hikers and six different choices of headgear. Good thing we don't all like the same hat, huh. Now THAT would be scary. :eek:
 
That would be scary.

That pic was taken in front of a 5 man shelter we built at the Wilderness learning Center a couple of weeks ago. We all got really close, probably closer than we wanted to in there.:eek:
 
for someone like me who sweats alot, I drink alot of water. I find that after i wear some hats for about a year they just get droopy and out of shape. I also like to wash them once in a while to clean them up... Does the tilly keep its shape no matter what??? what about the other hats that everyone mentioned??? Im going to replace my hat in a year as its already is droopy and getting out of shape...

Sasha
 
Hats -- my wife says I have "way too many." Like knives, you can never have "too many." :)

I wear a variety of cowboy hats around the ranch (what else would a westerner do?). In the bush or on the backpack trail, I wear several different light weight Tilley hats. In camp, I will often wear a few different flavors of Australian brands. Ya just have to figure out what best fits your lifestyle and best reflects your persona. Of course, cheap hats are out.

A favorite on-the-trail Tilley.
pakedgeinsp1fr4.jpg


I greatly admire the hat of famed outdoorsman, Calvin Rutstrum. Talk about a GREAT bucket. :D I'm thinkin' he used something like a paraffin/gasoline mix (?) to weatherproof his hat from the elements. Fortunately, we have better products (less smelly) these days.
rustrumhat1mz3.jpg
 
sasha said:
I find that after i wear some hats for about a year they just get droopy and out of shape. I also like to wash them once in a while to clean them up... Does the tilly keep its shape no matter what??
Click to expand...

You have to wash your Tilley from time to time...like every 5 years :D
I don't remember the last time I washed mine; I get out in the rain with it frequently though...does that count :o?
 
Tilley's do very well after coming out of the washing machine. The only thing required is that you remove the little foam insert in the top (its the piece that keeps the hat floating if dropped in the water). As I said earlier, because of the bird poop and heavy amounts of sweat I will wash mine pretty much once per week in the height of the field season. You let the hat air dry after washing it - it takes about 1 hr and you are good to go.

The brim never retained any creases in doing this. In fact, Tilley recommends washing the hat when it gets out of shape, and giving it a bit of a stretch and shaping after it comes out of the wash - at least for the Hemp ones.
 
sasha said:
for someone like me who sweats alot, I drink alot of water. I find that after i wear some hats for about a year they just get droopy and out of shape. I also like to wash them once in a while to clean them up... Does the tilly keep its shape no matter what??? what about the other hats that everyone mentioned??? Im going to replace my hat in a year as its already is droopy and getting out of shape...

Sasha
Click to expand...

Don't know about the new hemp models, but my old T3 arrived looking a bit rumpled at the start and proceeded to become more so over the years I wore it. That didn't bother me though because in the wild I like a hat that looks lived in (see Post #44 in this thread). When you wash a Tilley do so by hand and use a mild soap, NOT DETERGENT. I washed mine in detergent, which reacted with all the salt from years of perspiration and turned the affected areas yellow. That didn't look good at all, so I ditched the hat. :o
 
Nothing like a wool fedora. Best woodsy hat I've ever used. Course, been using the same one for 15 years now.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Another vote for the Tilley. I resisted buying one initially because of the nerd factor, but at the end of the day, "Real men don't worry about what other people think, he makes up his own mind".:D

Doc
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I think the older a fella gets, the less he cares about what anyone thinks about how he looks in a hat, myself included. It really is a shame that we are not more "hat oriented" in the US (maybe elsewhere, I don't know). It seems like such a basic and practicle article of clothing, yet a lot of us avoid wearing them or make our decision based on what others may think. The sad truth about "what others think" though is that you really don't want to attract unwanted attention or give the wrong impression. You want to not look threatening to others, lest you be remembered and described when a heinous crime has been committed in the area (it happens) but you don't want to look like a victim (goob) to someone who might be inclined to commit a heinous crime in the area (again, it happens).

I have a thin cotton "crusher" my Sister in law brought me from Mexico that I waer a lot - when oit's not rolled up in my bag and taking next to no space. I have one just like it in cotton duck with a fleece lining for cooler weather, Droman Pacific (?) somethingorother, a ball cap and several winter hats that I wear depending on the conditions.

I kinda like this one:
http://www.villagehatshop.com/bailey_fairbanks_fedora.html
Anyone tried one of these?
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The problem with Tilley or Outdoor Research or even booney hats is you end up looking like a member of "the wilderness nerd society". An Akubra looks grown-up and it's as effective as any of the artificial-ingredient hats mentioned.

Of course, my fedoras and packer hat will have to wait for cooler weather. I went out tonight with my "raful", a kind of Israeli booney. :)
Click to expand...

For us nerds who are already grown up and dont need the Indiana Jones look of the Akubra a Tilley with natural materials is number one. Hope you feel superior with your hollywood inspired fedora and trendy "raful".
 
DrivebyTrucker said:
I don't suggest a cowbow hat unless you have experience with horses, rodeo, etc. Otherwise you just look like a clown.
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That cracks me up! :D

I live in the northeast. I hate the heat. I'm a mailman, and in the summer at work, I wear one of those white pith helmets. I don't give a rat's butt what it looks like; I just know it keeps my melon in the shade and the breeze can blow through it. But I don't think I could wear one off duty... :p

So, I figured a nice, open-weave straw cowboy hat would be the ticket. But since I live in upstate NY and the nearest horses are ridden by little tiny guys in colorful silk clothes at the Saratoga race track, a cowboy hat just doesn't fit in. Like DrivebyTrucker, whenever I see a local wearing one, "clown" is one of the things that comes to my mind. ;) (My buddy always asks the wanna-be western cowboy hat wearers, "You got your hat, you got your boots... where's your coat, Tex?" Yuk yuk yuk....)

Anyway, I bought a really lightweight brimmed bucket hat from Mountain Hardwear. It provides shade for my head and neck, and an occasional spraying of silicone ("Camp Dry") makes it pretty water resistant in the rain.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
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